Fort San Pedro
Fuerte de San Pedro is a military defense structure, built by Spanish and indigenous American laborers under the command of Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and the Spanish Government in Cebu. It is located in the area now called Plaza Indepedencia, in the port area of the city. The smallest, oldest triangular bastion fort in the country was built in 1738 to repel Muslim raiders. In turn, it served as a stronghold for Filipino revolutionaries near the end of the 19th century. This served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were defended with artillery from the front with a strong palisade made of wood. The three bastions were named La Concepción (SW); Ignacio de Loyola (SE), and San Miguel (NE). It has a total area of 2,025 square inside meters (21,800 sq ft). The walls are 6.1 meters high by 2.4 meters thick (20 feet high by 8 feet thick), and the towers are 9.1 meters (30 ft) high from the ground level. The circumference is 380 meters (1,248 ft). The sides are of unequal lengths and the one fronting the city is where one may find entry into the fort. Fourteen cannons were mounted in their emplacements most of which are still there today. Work first started in 1565 with Miguel Lopéz de Legazpi breaking ground.
Little was known about the activity of the fort from the time it was built until two centuries later in 1739 when the King of Spain, Philip V, requested information regarding the island of Cebu. Tamon governor-general, who was the Spanish ruler of the islands at the time made the following report:
Fuerte San Pedro, the fort is described as built of stone mortar with a terreplein where guns are mounted. The fort contains the necessary buildings. The largest of these buildings was the Cuerpo de Guardia where the personnel who manned the fort lived. Adjacent to it was vivienda del teniente which was the living quarters of the lieutenant of the fort. In between the aforementioned buildings is well. At one corner attached to the walls of the bastion San Miguel (NE) was Almacenes de gunpowder (powder magazine). [1]
Timeline
The date of construction of the stone fort is uncertain, although there are claims that a Jesuit Antonio Campioni built a stone fort in 1630, and the gate of the fort bears the date 1738 together with the arms of Castile and Leon. It is certain, however, that the fort underwent major renovations in the late 19th century as part of a building program to improve Cebu. [2]
The victory of the Americans led by Commodore Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era in the Philippines. The fort was then surrendered by the Spaniards to the American revolutionaries.
Fort San Pedro became a part of the American Warwick Barracks during the American regime. [3] From 1937 to 1941 the barracks was converted into a school where many Cebuanos received their formal education. During World War II from 1942 to 1945, Japanese residents of the city took refuge within the walls. When the battle to liberate the city of Cebu from the Imperial Japanese forces was fought, the fort served as an emergency hospital for the wounded.
From 1946 to 1950, Fort San Pedro was an army camp. After 1950, the Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed to the inner part and convert it into a miniature garden.
Although already in ruins, the upper deck was utilized for different offices. First, as a clinic of the City Health, as the Office of the Presidential Arm and Community Development Unit of the City Public Works used the ruins of the lieutenant's quarters as its field office.
In 1957 Mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr. jolted the public with his announcement to demolish Fort San Pedro and erect on the spot a new City Hall. This started a movement against the demolition idea. Voicing opposition articles appeared in the local dailies and magazines in Cebu and in Manila. Finally, confronted by civic society leaders and heads at his City Hall office, he gave up his idea and said he will instead use the space behind the fort. [4]
In the very same year, the city council commissioned "The Lamplighter", a religious sect, to manage a zoo subsidized by the city within the fort's courtyard. [5]
By 1968, the façade, quarters and walls of the original structures of Fort San Pedro were so obliterated that only the two towers were recognizable. Plans for the restoration of the fort was started and the zoo was relocated.
Plans and estimates for the restoration of the fort was completed by architect Leonardo Concepción, who had completed his MA in Building restoration in Madrid. The project was jointly funded by the Board of Travel Industry (now the Department of Tourism), the city government and the Cebu Zonta Club.
The Fort San Pedro restoration was a tedious, time consuming and labor project. To restore the fort as close to the original as possible, coral stones which were hauled from under the sea along the coastal towns of Cebu were utilized. Delivered crudely cut to the restoration site, the fort laborers did the final cutting and polishing to make the blocks fit each other.
Work progressed slowly but the façade, the main building, (Cuerpo de Guardia), the walk and the observatory's roof garden were faithfully restored after one and a half years. To make the project functional; The restored main building then serves as the City's Office of the Department of Tourism, the lieutenant's quarters now houses a museum, the inner court is an open air theater and its immediate vicinity is a park.
At present, it is under the care and administration of the city of Cebu, [6] as a historical park under Executive Order No. City 08-87 of February 20, 2008. This order also known as Plaza Independencia - Fort San Pedro Interim Policy and Advisory Board (PIFSIPAB) appointed Hon. Michael L. Rama as overall overseer of the Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro. [7] The land on which it is situated is, however, owned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were defended with artillery from the front with a strong palisade made of wood. The three bastions were named La Concepción (SW); Ignacio de Loyola (SE), and San Miguel (NE). It has a total area of 2,025 square inside meters (21,800 sq ft). The walls are 6.1 meters high by 2.4 meters thick (20 feet high by 8 feet thick), and the towers are 9.1 meters (30 ft) high from the ground level. The circumference is 380 meters (1,248 ft). The sides are of unequal lengths and the one fronting the city is where one may find entry into the fort. Fourteen cannons were mounted in their emplacements most of which are still there today. Work first started in 1565 with Miguel Lopéz de Legazpi breaking ground.
Little was known about the activity of the fort from the time it was built until two centuries later in 1739 when the King of Spain, Philip V, requested information regarding the island of Cebu. Tamon governor-general, who was the Spanish ruler of the islands at the time made the following report:
Fuerte San Pedro, the fort is described as built of stone mortar with a terreplein where guns are mounted. The fort contains the necessary buildings. The largest of these buildings was the Cuerpo de Guardia where the personnel who manned the fort lived. Adjacent to it was vivienda del teniente which was the living quarters of the lieutenant of the fort. In between the aforementioned buildings is well. At one corner attached to the walls of the bastion San Miguel (NE) was Almacenes de gunpowder (powder magazine). [1]
Timeline
The date of construction of the stone fort is uncertain, although there are claims that a Jesuit Antonio Campioni built a stone fort in 1630, and the gate of the fort bears the date 1738 together with the arms of Castile and Leon. It is certain, however, that the fort underwent major renovations in the late 19th century as part of a building program to improve Cebu. [2]
The victory of the Americans led by Commodore Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era in the Philippines. The fort was then surrendered by the Spaniards to the American revolutionaries.
Fort San Pedro became a part of the American Warwick Barracks during the American regime. [3] From 1937 to 1941 the barracks was converted into a school where many Cebuanos received their formal education. During World War II from 1942 to 1945, Japanese residents of the city took refuge within the walls. When the battle to liberate the city of Cebu from the Imperial Japanese forces was fought, the fort served as an emergency hospital for the wounded.
From 1946 to 1950, Fort San Pedro was an army camp. After 1950, the Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed to the inner part and convert it into a miniature garden.
Although already in ruins, the upper deck was utilized for different offices. First, as a clinic of the City Health, as the Office of the Presidential Arm and Community Development Unit of the City Public Works used the ruins of the lieutenant's quarters as its field office.
In 1957 Mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr. jolted the public with his announcement to demolish Fort San Pedro and erect on the spot a new City Hall. This started a movement against the demolition idea. Voicing opposition articles appeared in the local dailies and magazines in Cebu and in Manila. Finally, confronted by civic society leaders and heads at his City Hall office, he gave up his idea and said he will instead use the space behind the fort. [4]
In the very same year, the city council commissioned "The Lamplighter", a religious sect, to manage a zoo subsidized by the city within the fort's courtyard. [5]
By 1968, the façade, quarters and walls of the original structures of Fort San Pedro were so obliterated that only the two towers were recognizable. Plans for the restoration of the fort was started and the zoo was relocated.
Plans and estimates for the restoration of the fort was completed by architect Leonardo Concepción, who had completed his MA in Building restoration in Madrid. The project was jointly funded by the Board of Travel Industry (now the Department of Tourism), the city government and the Cebu Zonta Club.
The Fort San Pedro restoration was a tedious, time consuming and labor project. To restore the fort as close to the original as possible, coral stones which were hauled from under the sea along the coastal towns of Cebu were utilized. Delivered crudely cut to the restoration site, the fort laborers did the final cutting and polishing to make the blocks fit each other.
Work progressed slowly but the façade, the main building, (Cuerpo de Guardia), the walk and the observatory's roof garden were faithfully restored after one and a half years. To make the project functional; The restored main building then serves as the City's Office of the Department of Tourism, the lieutenant's quarters now houses a museum, the inner court is an open air theater and its immediate vicinity is a park.
At present, it is under the care and administration of the city of Cebu, [6] as a historical park under Executive Order No. City 08-87 of February 20, 2008. This order also known as Plaza Independencia - Fort San Pedro Interim Policy and Advisory Board (PIFSIPAB) appointed Hon. Michael L. Rama as overall overseer of the Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro. [7] The land on which it is situated is, however, owned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
These days, part of the fort is a museum. Inside the fort houses the legacies of the Spanish Government, Spanish well preserved artefacts such as documents, paintings and sculpture. A large statue of San Antonio Pigafetta may be seen outside the fort walls.
| Tips: if you facing to fort san Pedro at your right side you see the white house of cebu |
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